Does Therapy actually work?

Ive been struggling with depression like a madman at this point, and its pretty much crippled me from doing anything. Does therapy actually help? I hardly think that talking about my feelings will bring back the dead. I also dont wont to start down the awful route of drugs. What do I do?

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If it didn't work then people wouldn't still be going to school for it

The effectiveness of something that has to be done by a human is directly dependent on the skill of said human. Bad therapists suck. Good therapists do good work. If your therapist isn't helping, go find one that does.

Simple shit.

Go to landmark worldwide. Take something called the forum. It will cure your depression.

This looks like a cult

That's not true. Genderstudies is absolute bs and people still go to school for it, same as arts.

It's high risk high reward. Most psychologists and psychiatrists would say sure, it helps, but what people forget that those who you consult dissect every inch of your life to understand you and address behavioral patterns that you have that you want to be changed. The impact is huge, and if done badly it could do the exact opposite of helping you. And as a side effect you also have insane costs. Imo it's a huge gamble.

Hypnosis is a lot safer i've been told but more expensive and hard to come by real professionals.

Pro tip:
If you chose to go anyway because you can afford it without insurance coverage: pay in cash and demand that your files are, if recorded at all, on paper, no digital copies etc. You don't want your future employees or random assholes to find and use your data against you.

Therapy only works if you want it to work and put the work in.

>That's not true. Genderstudies is absolute bs and people still go to school for it, same as arts.

I'm going to tell you a hard truth that no one will actually tell you. College is all about networking and interning. If you don't do those two things any degrees is almost useless.

What does this have to do with anything related to the topic. Who gives a shit about your useless colleges, were the only skill that you need to acquire is to talk, instead of proving that you are worth the time and money given to you.

Short term, yes

Long term, no. You have to build and sustain positive feedback loops on your own.

They do a lot more than talk. Also I was pointing out how that user is wrong.

Landmarks programs are not based in religious, spiritual or psychological practices. There is no worship. It's a personal and professional development course that is grounded in a model of transformative learning. Basically breakthrough technology that gives you access to new ways of being and acting that leave you inspired and empowered in day to day life.

Every therapist knows that you teach cognitive training during your sessions. Long term is something that the one taking therapy has to internalize and apply knowledge that has acquired during therapy sessions.

Therapy has the POTENTIAL to work very well, but it's not a miracle quick fix. It is also often poorly understood how exactly it works. Bracketing medication, therapy is just like having a personal coach for life and your development. If you are someone with a big need to express yourself/get encouragement and you're at rock bottom, then it will in itself be very helpful to have a listening ear, someone to put your bleakest thoughts into perspective and so on. But for a therapist to be able to be more than that, to actually challenge you to change your view, to not just talk about but HAVE the kind of interaction that makes you grow, that takes both a good therapist and a good fit between the two of you.

The more intelligent you are the harder it is, in a way. If someone is not introspective, doesn't know jack shit about psychology, it's relatively easy to offer them some suggestions (like keeping a mood journal) that can make an improvement. If you are smart, introspective and struggle mentally, by the time you end up in therapy you typically have very intricate defense mechanisms and thought patterns that are really fucking hard to change, because you already reflected so much on everything yourself. That asks for a therapist who can break through that barrier and catch you off guard, appeal to you not just logically but emotionally. It can also take time to establish enough of a bond/trust to do this to begin with. This is also why it's such bullshit when people say they've tried therapy and it didn't work. It's not a static medicine, it's the single person involved that makes all the difference.

>you typically have very intricate defense mechanisms and thought patterns that are really fucking hard to change, because you already reflected so much on everything yourself.
Fuck this is actually true
I had one meeting with a therapist and he had me keep a mood journal, and I basically convinced myself it wouldnt help. How do I get around this?

Ill look into it a bit

That's a nisconceotion. You don't talk about your feelings. You might to start so they know what they're dealing with, once they know what's going on, they're not interested anymore.

After that they teach you skills strategies exercises tools and thought processes to get better and cope. It's on you to get out of depression in the end. But they teach you how, and they can prescribe meds that can give you a hand if you want.

But a lot of it is reorganizing your life.

Is it worth it for me to start going again? I went to two sessions and I didnt really tell him that much about my issues

Misconception* sorry.

By understanding the mechanism behind it. If you understand your brain isn't magic and how it works and what a positivity journal actually does.

Your brain is a habit building system aside from other things. As the other user said you've analysed and analysed and put such a negative spin on everything that that's now your brains habit.. you've gotten *really good* at greeting everything with doubt and negativity and you've gotten really good at not seeing any evidence it could be positive. It's a skill you taught yourself.

A positivity journal works the opposite way. Sit down and write good things that happened. No matter how small. Overtime it becomes a habit and automatic, and you genuinely bcome more positive.

This is a treatment for a symptom. Not the whole illness. There's a lot more to do, and no cure all. That's how therapists help. They walk you through the skills exercises and steps.

If you really do want help and are willing to cgange then yes it helps. If you want someone to listen to you rant and you expect no effort, then it wont work

I would recommend looking into Cognitive Conduct Therapy. Its pretty beast

My father used to refer to Psychology as "mental masturbation". As the years have passed, I see the old man was pretty much right on.

>you've analysed and analysed and put such a negative spin on everything that that's now your brains habit.. you've gotten *really good* at greeting everything with doubt and negativity and you've gotten really good at not seeing any evidence it could be positive. It's a skill you taught yourself.

A positivity journal works the opposite way. Sit down and write good things that happened. No matter how small. Overtime it becomes a habit and automatic, and you genuinely bcome more positive.

Fuck this is actually really true and really great advice, im gonna start doing this thnx user

Yeah no wonder you agree thats the most vague comparison I think Ive ever heard.

It absolutely does work, but you need to find a good one.

You're right about drugs too, they only make things worse. This also applies to the legal drugs that many psychiatrists peddle. Find a someone who is willing to work through your problems the old fashioned way. Antidepressants will ruin your life.

Therapy works for the same reason every method of treating depression works; because people believe it does. All you really need is validation and you should only see a therapist if money is no object, otherwise a close friend or family member will do the same thing. Maybe not as well, but a therapist won't tell you anything you don't already know if you're at least marginally capable of self-reflection. If you don't have anyone to listen to your problems than, yeah, probably see someone.

Not really, just gives you some insight. Not a bad idea but the real thing is to just figure yourself out and fix your shit.

It works if you’re retarded and don’t know how to self reflect

This essentially, and even then if youre retarded its hard to understand and apply someone else's insight. As with everything in life, just git gud.

No problem brother. Like I said, a therapist is extremely useful because they're full of things like this and they guide you through, but I'll give you the therapist cheat sheet. The tl;Dr of what they'll tell you. It's not a replacement, if you need help get it but here ya go:

Eat healthy, keep hydrated, limit alcohol and illicit drugs.

Get aerobic exercise on a regular basis (20 minutes of heart rate increasing sweat inducing exercise at least 3-4 days a week.)

Don't blame your problems on others, be mindful of your thoughts and always ask yourself if that thing that's bugging you is really worth thinking about at all, is it helping you, is it accomplishing anything..? No? Drop it.

Do the positivity journal

Set goals and accomplish. Small is perfectly fine.

Keep on top of your chores and bills and to dos. Keep it up to date and all that. Don't get overwhelmed.

Get friends and keep an active social life (and wrap your head around the fact you're plenty likeable and if you don't agree then you just haven't found a group that works for you. End of story.)


That's basically the keys. It will fine tune and change person to person, sometimes medication is necessary, but that's what they want you to know. If you have trouble getting any done, that's their job, to help you get there.

How can I get proper help?
Whenever I have any problem, my parents would give me old traditional advice or ignore it.

You cannot rely on your parents to support you. That sounds terrible, but it's true in so many cases. It's not that they don't want to. They just don't understand. Parents do not want to think there is something wrong with their kid. They don't want to think their kid is hurting. They go into denial and nothing they say is helpful to you. Rarely do parents realize what you're dealing with is chemical, and has nothing to do with their parenting ability/care levels. So don't lean on them to help. Help yourself by seeking professional guidance. Someone objective, who doesn't love you unconditionally. A therapist will help you.

I underexaggerated my comment to get a quick reply. Would you still think that your same advice would also apply to a "robot"?